Purse Organizer

ABSTRACT

A purse organizer that allows a purse or a handbag to be organized though the use of multiple modular containers that are each able to be separated and placed back together via a series of releasable fasteners in order to allow configuring the purse organizer to adapt to the size and shape of individual purses.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/252,339, filed Oct. 16, 2009, which is herebyincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a modular purse organizer for insertion into aconventional man's or woman's purse or handbag.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A conventional man's or woman's purse typically includes a largeinterior compartment with perhaps a few smaller side compartments. Insuch a conventional purse, multiple items are placed in the purse andcarried throughout the day and can include anything from wallets, keys,money/change, lipstick, baby or child items, writing instruments, food,and many other items. Because of the construction of a conventionalpurse, the above identified items are often simply stored in the largeinterior compartment. In such a circumstance, difficulty may arise whena person needs to quickly identify and retrieve certain items from aplurality of items in the large interior compartment of his or herpurse.

In the case of a woman's purse, some women may prefer to have acompartment for their wallet or keys, while other women do not carrycosmetics and would rather have a compartment for writing instruments.Further, not all women carry the same size purse at all times. Forexample, some days a woman may carry a large handbag because she has thechildren with her and the amount of purse space she will require mustincrease accordingly. If the next day, however, she is going to work shemay require only a smaller purse in which she carries a lesser number ofitems.

Many prior art purse organizers are made of various types of materialand may be folded in various ways. Some of the prior art purseorganizers use printed markers for keys, lipstick, or other items. Priorart attempts to organize the contents of a conventional purse includecompartmented purses and compartmented purse organizer inserts such asthose shown in Miceli U.S. Pat. No. 2,911,024 and Newton U.S. Pat. No.6,945,293. Such prior art purse organizer inserts, however, areconstructed with fixed exterior dimensions and fixed compartments.Consequently, such purse organizer inserts may fit in one particularpurse owned by an individual but not fit in other purses owned by thatindividual. Further, the fixed compartments disclosed in the prior artpurse organizer inserts do not lend themselves to a variety of itemsthat an individual might want to carry in the purse at any given time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to overcome the difficulties associated with a conventionalpurse with a large interior compartment and to overcome the difficultiesassociated with prior art purse organizer inserts, the present inventioncomprises a purse organizer constructed from a plurality of modules ormodular containers that can be connected together by releasablefasteners to create a purse organizer with a variety of configurationsand exterior dimensions. Once the purse organizer has been configuredwith the plurality of modular containers, the purse organizer isinserted into a woman's or man's purse to organize the contents of thepurse.

Each of the modular containers comprises a plurality of sidewalls, aback wall, which engages the sidewalls to form a container volume, and alid, hinged to one of the sidewalls, to open and close the containervolume. In one embodiment of the present invention, all of the sidewallsof the plurality of modular containers are the same height. The backwall and the lid of each modular container are of a regular geometricshape and are congruent. The shape of the back wall and the lid may bethat of a square, a rectangle, a triangle, a hexagon, an octagon, or acylindrical section. The number of sidewalls is selected to match theregular geometric shape of the back wall and the lid. For example, ifthe lid and the back wall are in the shape of a square, the modularcontainer has four connected sidewalls, and the resulting containervolume is cube shaped. If the lid and the back wall are in the shape ofa rectangle, the modular container has four connected sidewalls, and theresulting container volume is a rectangular prism shape. If the lid andthe back wall are in the shape of a hexagon, the modular container hassix connected sidewalls, and the resulting container volume is ahexagonal prism shape.

Each of the sidewalls has one half of a releasable fastener. Thereleasable fasteners may include, but are not limited to, hook and loopfasteners, snap fasteners, magnetic fasteners, and zippers. Thereleasable fasteners allow the user to interconnect a variety of themodular containers together to form the purse organizer having a varietyof configurations. The purse organizer may also be configured bystarting with a basic core of modular containers to which additionalauxiliary modular containers could be added. In addition, a fastenerlocated on the back wall of each modular container could be used toattach smaller modular containers for holding change, paperclips, andother similar items. Because the purse organizer can be configured in anumber of ways by means of the interconnection of the modularcontainers, the resulting purse organizer can be configured withexterior dimensions for easy insertion and removal from a variety ofpurses.

Each of the modular containers can be constructed of any suitablematerial, such as plastic, but using a velour type material on the outersurface of the modular containers will allow the purse organizer to stayin place within a conventional purse without much movement. Alsoconfiguring the purse organizer with its modular containers with aparticular exterior dimension will produce a snug fit within aparticular conventional purse so that the purse organizer will stay inplace within the purse. By using modular containers with curved sides orcorners, such as a modular container in the shape of a cylindricalsection, the exterior portion of the purse organizer can be configuredto fit a particular size purse better than a purse organizer with squareexternal portions.

In one alteration of the purse organizer, a handle, having compatiblefasteners to the fasteners used on the modular containers, can beattached to one or more of the modular containers to assist in theremoval of the purse organizer from the purse.

Further objects, features and advantages will become apparent uponconsideration of the following detailed description of the inventionwhen taken in conjunction with the drawings and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a purse organizerin accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the purseorganizer in accordance with the present invention inserted into aconventional purse.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the first embodiment of the purseorganizer in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a section view of the first embodiment of the purse organizerin accordance with the present invention as seen along line 3-3 of FIG.2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the purseorganizer in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of the second embodiment of the purseorganizer in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a section view of the second embodiment of the purse organizerin accordance with the present invention as seen along line 6-6 of FIG.5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Turning to FIGS. 1-3, a first embodiment of a purse organizer 10 isshown. As shown in FIG. 1A, the purse organizer 10 is inserted into alarge interior compartment 15 of a conventional purse 12 in order toorganize a variety of items to be carried in the purse 12. The purseorganizer 10 comprises a plurality of interconnected modular containers14 a-h. Each of the modular containers 14 is of a regular geometricshape including, for example, cube shaped modular containers 14 a-d,rectangular prism shaped modular containers 14 e-f, and cylindricalsection (or cylindroid/elliptical) shaped modular containers 14 g-h.Each of the modular containers 14 has a plurality of sidewalls 16 and aback wall 18 (FIG. 3) interconnecting the sidewalls 16 to form acontainer volume 34. A container lid 20 may be hinged to one of thesidewalls 16 of each of the modular containers 14 to open and close thecontainer volume 34. In some embodiments, the container lid 20 for oneor more of the modular containers 14 is omitted to permit quick accessto the modular container 14 without the need to open the container lid20. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3, all of the sidewalls 16 of theplurality of modular containers 14 are the same height. Because all ofthe sidewalls 16 of the modular containers 14 are of equal height, theresulting purse organizer 10 has a uniform thickness. Specialty modularcontainers 14, however, may be provided for the purse organizer 10 ofthe present invention to accommodate large items, small items, or oddshaped items.

In some embodiments, the sidewalls 16 of a modular container 14 can havedifferent heights, thus resulting in a modular container 14 where thecontainer lid 20 is not parallel to the back wall 18, thus producing amodular container 14 with a sloping container lid 20. In someembodiments, multiple modular containers 14 with sloping container lids20 can be connected to one another in a geometric configuration toproduce a purse organizer 10 with an overall sloping effect.

With respect to the cube shaped modular containers 14 a-d shown in FIGS.1-3, the back wall 18 and the container lid 20 are congruent and aresquare in shape. With respect to rectangular prism shaped modularcontainers 14 e-f, the back wall 18 and the lid 20 are congruent and arerectangular in shape. With respect to the cylindrical section shapedmodular containers 14 g-h, the back wall 18 and the container lid 20 arecongruent and are in the shape of a section of a circle or an ellipse. Aperson of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other regulargeometric shaped modular containers 14 can be created where the shape ofthe back wall 18 and of the lid 20 may include a triangle, a hexagon, oran octagon and the appropriate number of sidewalls 16 are connected tothe edges of the back wall 18.

The modular containers 14 may be formed of any suitable materialincluding, without limit, plastic, metal, fiber board, etc. In addition,the inside of the modular containers 14 may be lined with fabric toprovide cushioning and to produce an aesthetic enhancement. The outsideof the sidewalls 16, the back walls 18, and the lids 20 may be coveredwith fabric to provide cushioning and to produce an aestheticenhancement. The fabric on the outside of the sidewalls 16, the backwalls 18, and the lids 20 further may be selected to provide frictionalengagement between the purse organizer 10 and the inside of the largeinterior compartment 15 of the purse 12. In that way, movement of thepurse organizer 10 within the interior compartment 15 of the purse 12can be minimized.

Each of the sidewalls 16 has one half of a releasable fastener 42. Thereleasable fasteners 42 may include, but are not limited to, hook andloop fasteners, snap fasteners, magnetic fasteners, and zippers. Thereleasable fasteners 42 allow the user to interconnect a variety of themodular containers 14 together to form the purse organizer 10. Ifdiscrete, individual fasteners, such as single snaps, are used, then thesnaps must be spaced on the sidewalls 16 of the various modularcontainers 14 in such a way as to ensure alignment of the fasteners 42between modular containers 14. For example, the spacing between fastener42 a on modular container 14 a and fastener 42 b on modular container 14b match the spacing between fasteners 42 f on modular container 14 f sothat the fasteners 42 a and 42 b align with fasteners 42 f.Alternatively, strips of hook and loop fasteners for fasteners 42 a, 42b, and 42 f provide more flexibility with respect to the alignment andconnection of the modular containers 14 a, 14 b, and 14 f with eachother. In addition, a releasable fastener located (not shown) on theback wall 18 of each modular container 14 provides a point of attachmentfor smaller modular containers for holding change, paperclips, and othersimilar items.

In the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1-3, thepurse organizer 10 is constructed about a starting basic core of modularcontainers 14, such as the four cube shaped modular containers 14 a-d.Additional modular containers, such as modular containers 14 e-h arethen connected by fasteners 42 to the periphery of the basic core (cubeshaped modular containers 14 a-d) of the purse organizer 10. The basiccore of modular containers provides an organizational starting point forthe user in configuring the purse organizer 10. Alternatively, thesecond embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 4-6,represents a more random configuration for the purse organizer 100 withits modular containers 114 a-h.

In both embodiments of the present invention, the modular containers 14or 114 preferably have lids 20 or 120. The lids 20 or 120 close themodular container volume 34 or 134 to ensure that items placed in themodular containers 14 or 114 to not spill into the large interiorcompartment 15 of the purse 12. Each lid 20 or 120 is hinged to asidewall 16 or 116 by means of a hinge 21 or 121. In the case of aplastic modular container 14 or 114, the hinge 21 or 121 constitutes aflexible plastic web extending between one edge of the lid 20 or 120 andthe mating edge of the sidewall 16 or 116. In addition, to ensure thatthe items in the modular container 14 or 114 do not spill, the lid 20 or120 is secured to the opposite sidewall 16 or 116 of the modularcontainer 14 or 114 by a latch 22 or 122 at the edge of the lid 20 or120 opposite the hinge 21 or 121. In the case of a plastic modularcontainer 14 or 114, the latch 22 or 122 may constitute a downwardlyextending lip to engage frictionally the inside of the sidewall 16 or116. A person of ordinary skill in the art would be able to constructother latching arrangements for latching the lid 20 or 120 in place onthe modular container 14 or 114.

In order to facilitate the insertion and removal of the purse organizer10 or 100 from the large interior compartment 15 of the purse 12, ahandle (not shown), having releasable handled fasteners compatible withthe fasteners 42 or 142, can be attached to one or more of the modularcontainers 14 or 114.

Because the purse organizer 10 or 100 can be configured in a number ofways by means of the interconnection of the modular containers 14 or114, the resulting purse organizer 10 or 100 can be configured withexterior dimensions for easy insertion and removal from the largeinterior compartment 15 of the purse 12. By configuring the purseorganizer 10 or 100 with particular exterior dimensions, the purseorganizer 10 or 100 will fit snugly within a particular purse so thatthe purse organizer 10 or 100 will remain in place. By using modularcontainers, such as modular containers 14 g, 14 h, and 114 h with curvedsides or corners, the exterior portion of the purse organizer 10 or 100can in some cases fit a particular purse better than a purse organizerwith square external portions.

While this invention has been described with reference to preferredembodiments thereof, it is to be understood that variations andmodifications can be affected within the spirit and scope of theinvention as described herein and as described in the appended claims.

1. A purse organizer for insertion into a purse with an interiorcompartment comprising: a. a plurality of modular containers, eachcontainer having sidewalls and a container back wall engaging thesidewalls to form a container volume; and b. a plurality of releasablefasteners on the sidewalls to interconnect the modular containers toconstruct the purse organizer, wherein the modular containers areadapted to be connected by the releasable fasteners in a variety of waysto construct the purse organizer with a plurality of configurations andexterior dimensions.
 2. The purse organizer of claim 1, wherein all ofthe sidewalls are of equal height.
 3. The purse organizer of claim 1,wherein a releasable fastener is provided on the back wall of themodular container for interconnecting modular containers.
 4. The purseorganizer of claim 1, wherein the modular container of the purseorganizer has a container lid positioned opposite the container backwall and hinged to one of the sidewalls to close and open the containervolume and wherein the lid includes a latch for securing the lid to thesidewalls and thereby securing the lid and closing the container volume.5. The purse organizer of claim 1, wherein the releasable fasteners areselected from the group comprising hook and loop fasteners, snapfasteners, magnetic fasteners, and zippers.
 6. The purse organizer ofclaim 1, wherein the back wall and the lid are congruent, and the shapeof the back wall and the lid have a regular geometric shape selectedfrom the group comprising a square, a rectangle, a triangle, a hexagon,an octagon, and a cylindrical section.
 7. The purse organizer of claim1, wherein a handle with a releasable fastener is attached to the purseorganizer by means of at least one of the releasable fasteners on thesidewalls to facilitate removal of the purse organizer from the purse.8. The purse organizer of claim 1, wherein each modular container has anoutside surface that frictionally engages the internal compartment ofthe purse.